Hazmat Investigates Exploding Sauerkraut

Teachers at a British Columbia school called the local fire department after a can of sauerkraut exploded in a food sciences class and worried botulism might be the culprit. The hazardous materials team came out to take a look-see. Nope. Just fermentation. I have a priceless mental image of white-suited inspectors collecting samples of what turns out to be cabbage, but that’s neither here nor there.

It’s not outrageous for teachers to suspect botulism; after all, there were some high-profile cases of infected cans exploding a few years back. It’s just funny. HA HA THE CAN FARTED! It had to be said.

Actually, exploding containers are not unheard-of in food service, particularly in restaurants that require staff to “marry” ketchups and other condiments at the end of the day, filling up jars to put back on tables. If a ketchup bottle gets refilled over and over again for years, the stuff at the bottom can ferment and bubble, until finally, kablooey.